“The Long Ceasefire” Or “The Age of Anxiety” Between The Wars: 1919-1939 “The Long Ceasefire” Or “The Age of Anxiety”

After World War One The Treaty of Versailles and others that ended WWI left many countries unhappy Germany was devastated by the war reparations and severely weakened economically and militarily Italy and Japan were not awarded land that they had been promised after WWI In 1929 the Great Depression begins in the United States and will quickly devastate the economies of the industrialized nations of the world

The Great Depression The crippling economic effects of the Great Depression only made things worse for European countries that were already angry and devastated by the effects of WWI and the treaties that ended it The crash of the US stock market begins the depression and it quickly spreads around the world Hyper-Inflation makes German money nearly useless Millions are left jobless and forced to wait for food in “breadlines”

Growth of Nationalism The combination of discontent with the end of World War One and the effects of the Great Depression led to powerful leaders emerging in various industrialized nations Each leader had their own ideas about the best ways to fix their countries, but ultimately the ambitions of several will lead to World War Two Totalitarian dictators begin to use censorship, terror, and violence to strengthen their rule

Growth of Nationalism Powerful leaders will emerge with varying ideas FDR, Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini Franco – Spain FDR - USA Hitler - Germany Stalin – Soviet Union Mussolini - Italy Tojo - Japan

Growth of Nationalism Some of these leaders bring back the old ideas of their nation’s superiority over all others Totalitarian dictators emerge Some countries embraced a form of super-nationalism known Fascism Germany and Italy Others sought to expand their influence and power through military rule and expansion Japan

Fascism Fascism is a form of ultra-nationalism in which people are willing to put the importance of their country ahead of their own personal rights Ruled over by a totalitarian dictator Other characteristics include censorship and propaganda, strong militaries, and state-controlled economies Germany and Italy during WWII are two classic examples of a Fascist State

Mussolini in Italy Benito Mussolini emerges as a the leader of the Fascist Party in Italy after WWI He seizes control of the country and vows to restore the glory of the Roman Empire to Italy His imperial ambitions are one cause of WWII I put in the youth group photo to emphasize the “restoration” of Rome idea and getting them young to buy in

Hitler and the Nazis Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party in the German government known as the Weimar Republic In 1933 he is elected Chancellor making him the leader of the government The German people supported his ideas of defying the Treaty of Versailles and taking back land and respect that they lost as a result of the treaty The Nazi ideology was based on the belief that the Aryan (German) Race was superior to all others

Hitler and the Nazis Once Hitler becomes Chancellor, he begins using violence and terror to crush all his opposition By 1934 the Nazis control the German Weimar Republic and disband Parliament, thus making Hitler a totalitarian dictator over Germany The vast majority of the German people supported him During the coming years Hitler will repeatedly ignore the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations

Japanese Imperial Ambitions Japan was ruled by Emperor Hirohito in the 1920s, but Hideki Tojo, a powerful military leader, will effectively seize control of Japan Due to the Japanese nationalism, many people supported the idea of expanding the small island nation across the Pacific and into China During the 1930s, Tojo will begin leading campaigns to seize land in China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific

Stalin Rules as a Dictator While Stalin was not a Fascist leader like Hitler, he was a totalitarian dictator who use similar methods of censorship and violence to crush his opposition While the Western nations opposed Communism, they will eventually find a common enemy in Hitler during WWII This slide could be an opportunity to bring up the current situation in the Ukraine and talk about Stalin’s forced famine of the Ukranian people in the 1930s (I added a picture of Gulags and forced famine)

Setting up for World War Two Overall, many of the ideas that had led to the beginnings of WWI are going to emerge again during the 1930s Nationalism Aggressive Militarism Imperialism Even Alliances will eventually be formed As countries such as Japan, Germany, and Italy begin challenging the League of Nations, its weakness will be revealed Eventually the actions taken in defiance of the League of Nations and treaties such as the ToV will lead to the outbreak of WWII in 1939.